BUTTERFLIES | ✓

IV

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rebecca smith is sitting on the couch. she's basking in the moonlight shining through the window. victoria is out. she had a date, or whatever.

suddenly, her phone starts ringing.

she stretches over and plucks the phone off the coffee table. it's her mom, rachel, calling.

"hey mom!," she greets, "what's up?"

"hi sweetie," her mom says, a strain in her voice, "i was just thinking of you today and wanted to call."

"aw, mom. i'm glad you did. i was bored."

becca presses the phone tightly between her ear and her shoulder as she grabs a nail file and starts gently grinding her nails.

"recently, hon, i've been feeling guilty that we didn't do much together this summer! i mean, it was our last summer before you started college! i should've made more effort trying to make it memorable. you're not home anymore! i guess it's just the reality of you not being here anymore finally setting in."

becca tosses the nail file aside, suddenly feeling guilt herself.

"mom, don't apologize! just being able to spend time with you is all i need. i don't need a lavish bora bora vacation to make summer memorable." they laugh, "and i'm not that far. it could be way worse. i'll make sure to visit super often."

after a nice (and really long!) chat, becca and her mom decide to meet up at the trench coat, a fancy italian restaurant, for dinner this evening.

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tj takes an enormous bite of some crab cakes, savoring the delectable flavor. across from him, victoria swirls alfredo with her fork.

a smile appears across victoria's face, and she says, "this is really nice. thank you so much for taking me here."

tj wipes his mouth with a napkin, thinking thoughtfully, "thank you for accepting the invite. honestly, i'm really not a 'dater,' so i'm really happy we're here."

"you're not a dater?," victoria asks.

"not at all. i physically am unable to date, i can't explain it." he begins, "i should probably make more of an effort to be fair, but it's hard for me."

victoria smiles. wow he's cute!

after taking a few sips of her water, victoria notices a familiar figure out of the corner of her eye, sitting at a table adjacent to her own, with an older woman.

"becca?" victoria says, just loud enough to garner becca's attention.

"victoria?" becca, who's enjoying dinner with her mom, hollers back.

becca excuses herself momentarily, and hurries over to victoria and tj's table.

"hey v, and...," she pauses, acknowledging tj's presence, "attractive guy i've never met."

"tj." he says, offering his hand, and a smile. becca shakes it, looking back toward victoria.

"this is the guy who was on the stairs the other night. you just missed him, remember?" victoria says, causing becca's eyes to widen in realization.

"oh! this is the guy you were talking about."

tj looks at victoria with a smirk, "oh?"

"i barely talked about you." victoria replies, rolling her eyes jokingly.

"well then," becca begins, "enjoy this date, you guys. i'm gonna head back over to my mom."

"see you at home, b."

becca turns away and walks back toward her mother.

shaking off the interruption, victoria says, "i did not intend on that happening, sorry about that. that's my roommate."

"no worries at all." tj responds, grinning.

after a moment, he looks at victoria, an unreadable expression on his face.

"what's wrong?," victoria asks.

"do you like bowling?" he asks

she laughs, "uh, yeah...?"

"before i say anything, would you like to go out on a second date?"

victoria smiles, looking down momentarily. when she looks back up, "i would, yes."

"let's go bowling."

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thanks for reading! ♥︎